Broken Dreams
by Tearful Shadows
Summary: Ryoma is betrayed by Seigaku but he gets his story out. Determined to forget what happened, Ryoma leaves for Naniwa to stay with, you guessed it, Shitenhouji! Finding love in different places, Ryoma will put the betrayal behind him and learn that trust needs only to be laced with the right people for it to flourish.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n. So after reading so many stories of Ryoma being betrayed by Seigaku, I decided that I needed to do one of my own. I don't like that he runs off without telling anyone what happened, so here goes nothing! The pairing is a Ryoma/Multi. The plot is mine but the characters are not. They may be a little OOC.**

Ryoma was floating on cloud nine. He had just won the Nationals for Seigaku and his team mates were throwing him up in the air with smiles on their faces. He was laughing without restraint and could not bring himself to care.

After the award ceremony, Ryoma walked up to the talking Yukimura, Sanada, and Kirihara. They all stopped talking when he reached them and looked at him expectantly. Still unbelievably happy, Ryoma offered them a genuine joyful smile that took their breath away.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the match! You're a great tennis player; all of you. I hope that we can play another match sometime." Ryoma said, offering his hand to Yukimura with a small smile.

Yukimura, Sanada, and Kirihara were surprised at how different Ryoma was acting but they were hard pressed to think that the changes were bad. Yukimura took the smaller hand in his own and smiled too. "I would love that, Echizen. I am sure the rest of my team would as well."

"Great! I can't wait! You can call me Ryoma, Yukimura-sempai. All of you can." Ryoma said, looking at Sanada and Kirihara.

"It's Seiichi then Ryoma." Seiichi said with a small smile. "You can call Genichirou and Akaya by their names too." Genichirou and Akaya nodded in agreement.

Ryoma smiled then frowned as if remembering something. "I've forgotten my Regular's jersey in the locker room. I'll talk to you guys after I go get it, yeah? I'd love to get to know you guys better." Ryoma said.

"Of course. Akaya, why don't you walk with Ryoma to the locker room?" Seiichi said, getting a nod from Akaya.

The two walked off while Seiichi and Genichirou watched them go. "Ne, Genichirou, Ryoma sure is handsome, yeah?" Seiichi asked offhandedly.

Genichirou blushed but gave an agreeing nod. "You could definitely say that."

Yukimura made a thoughtful noise. "Interesting." He whispered.

A few minutes later, a tearful Ryoma was running so fast that he crashed into Seiichi. He wrapped his arm around the distraught teen and steadied them. Akaya came running up then, looking angry and out of breath.

"Ryoma, what happened? Shh, it's ok." Seiichi whispered, rubbing soothing circles on Ryoma's upper back.

It was Akaya who answered. "We went to get his jersey and we heard those bastards talking. They were saying that they were surprised that Ryoma was actually useful for something and that they could get rid of him now that he had outlived his usefulness. They were saying that they hated him and couldn't wait to crush him."

"Except for Fuji-sempai." Ryoma broke in in a tremulous voice. "He tried to get them to take it back but they wouldn't listen!"

Seiichi's navy eyes grew hard and cold as he shared a look with Genichirou, meeting his equally angry chocolate eyes.

"Then Ryoma burst through the door and was all like 'you can keep your damn jersey. I'm through with you backstabbing morons. I can't believe that I ever trusted you. Thank you for trying Fuji-sempai'. And then he ran out here." Akaya said, shivering slightly as he recalled Ryoma's murderous aura.

Genichirou smirked slightly as he thought about how surprised Seigaku must have seemed.

"Come on Ryoma." Seiichi said soothingly. "The team and I were just getting ready to go to a café a few streets down from here. Why don't you come with us, hmm?"

"I don't want to intrude on you guys." Ryoma protested quietly, drawing himself back enough so that he could see Seiichi's face but still be encircled in his arms.

"Nonsense Ryoma! It's fine." Genichirou said with a slight smile.

"If you're sure…" Ryoma trailed off uncertainly.

"We're positive!" Akaya exclaimed.

Ryoma nodded and Seiichi let go of Ryoma but grabbed his hand lightly, eliciting a small blush from the distraught teen. They began walking towards the confused Rikkaidai team.

"What's Echizen doing with you guys? And why does he look so upset?" Yanagi asked, getting ready to expand his data.

"Ryoma is going to come with us to the café a few streets from here." Seiichi said a subtle hint of warning in his tone.

The others wisely decided not to question them further and they fell into step around their buchou, fukubuchou, and Akaya. They made it to the gates before a voice behind them stopped them.

"Whoring yourself out to Rikkaidai now, ahn?" Mom asked maliciously.

Akaya opened his mouth angrily but Ryoma spun around so abruptly, making him pause to see what Ryoma would do. He stalked up to Momo and punched him square in the eye so fast that it was like lightning, shocking Seigaku and Rikkaidai. Momo fell on backwards and landed on the ground with a thud, clutching his eye.

"I was never a whore!" Ryoma hissed. "It would serve you well to stay far away from me and say nothing untoward about me. I know things about all of you that I'm sure you don't want getting out." Ryoma threatened dangerously, his whole body shaking. He grabbed the nearest Rikkaidai regular's hand, which happened to me Marui, and dragged him away from the Seigaku regulars.

"I'll get you for this, bastard!" Momo screamed angrily from the ground.

"I'd like to see you try. You couldn't touch me, even if you wanted to." Ryoma shot over his shoulder, gracing Seigaku with a smirk before he turned the corner, still dragging Marui, prompting the other Rikkaidai members to snap partially out of their shock and follow them.

When they caught up with Ryoma, it was to see him punching a wall and gritting his teeth at the pain that caused.

"Ryoma!" Akaya exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Don't do that! You're going to break your hand if you keep doing that!" he said, going into full overprotective brother mode as he examined the bloody knuckles.

Ryoma chuckled hoarsely. "It's fine Akaya. Nothing to worry about."

"That was awesome by the way! I've never seen anyone flatten Momoshiro with one punch before." Akaya exclaimed after sending one final disapproving look at Ryoma.

Ryoma shrugged. "Tennis isn't the only thing my baka oyaji made me do. I'm a black belt in martial arts; have been since I was eight." Ryoma said, laughing at their dumbfounded looks. "My baka oyaji said that it would improve my tennis."

"You truly are something Echizen." Marui said, a surprised laugh escaping him as he ruffled the shorter male's hair.

Ryoma rolled his eyes before smirking. "Are we going to that café or are you guys going to stand there and stare at me all day?"

**A/n. Done! I know that this type of story has been done a lot but I hope that it was different. Please let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

"There's the Ryoma we all know and love." Akaya said fondly before ushering the boy back to the Rikkaidai regulars. Seiichi grabbed his hand again and examined it before pressing a gentle kiss to it, making Ryoma blush lightly.

"It's said that if you kiss an injury then it is supposed to make it better." Seiichi said with a small smile.

Ryoma pulled his cap lower over his head to cover his embarrassment. "Are we going or what?" he asked, slightly impatiently.

Akaya rolled his eyes before grabbing Ryoma's hand from Seiichi. "I bet you can't beat me there, Ryoma!" he called happily.

Ryoma's eyes lit up with a determined fire. "You're so on, Akaya!" he said.

Akaya laughed as Ryoma tore his hand from his and started running. "Oi! Ryoma! You're not supposed to be so fast!"

"Then maybe you should get off your lazy ass and train more!" Ryoma said back with a laugh.

Akaya spluttered for a minute while his team mates laughed. "You are so going to regret that Ryoma!" he said before tearing off after Seigaku's former ace.

"It's nice to see Akaya so happy." Marui said laughter still present in his tone.

"I do feel slightly bad for Echizen when Akaya catches up with him." Niou said with sympathy.

"Who said that he will?" Jackal asked with a smirk.

"We should probably go make sure they aren't getting into trouble." Genichirou said.

"Right you are Gen." Seiichi agreed cheerfully and they started walking towards the café.

As they neared, they could hear happy laughter and Akaya yelling. They rounded the corner and immediately doubled over in laughter. Ryoma was sitting on Akaya's shoulders with his legs wrapped around his waist. Akaya was stumbling around, trying to dislodge Ryoma's hold on him.

"Get off me you brat!" Akaya yelled playfully, trying to keep a smile off his face.

"Never!" Ryoma said with a carefree laugh. "Not until you admit that I won!"

"But you didn't! I got here first!" Akaya said with a smirk.

The regulars snorted as Ryoma whacked Akaya over the back of the head. "Only because you cheated! I didn't know my way here!" Ryoma protested with a playful glare.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have agreed to the race. It's called using your stupidity to my advantage." Akaya said with a smirk over his shoulder directed at Ryoma.

Ryoma growled teasingly and used his legs to flip Kirihara over so he landed face down on the grass with Ryoma straddling his back. "Now I know that you didn't just call me stupid right?"

Akaya looked back and saw Ryoma had a devilish smile on his face. "Now Ryoma…" Kirihara said with a nervous chuckle.

Ryoma ran his hands teasingly up and down Kirihara's sides with feather light touches, causing the teen underneath him to squirm. "I didn't want to have to do this Akaya, but you leave me with no choice. Now your whole team will know." Ryoma whispered mischievously.

He pressed more firmly on Akaya's sides and continued running his hands up and down. Crazed laughter erupted from Akaya's mouth.

"Ry-Ryoma! S-s-stop…AHAHAHA! R-Ryoma that's enough! Alright…okay…you won! Just stop!" Akaya said between laughs. The hands paused.

"I don't think I heard you. Want to say that again, Akaya?" Ryoma asked teasingly.

Akaya looked away but relented when the hands moved threateningly close to his sides. "You won!" Akaya said loudly.

There was a minute's pause.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Ryoma said, getting off of Akaya and walking over to the out of breath regulars with a large grin on his face. Akaya grumbled a bit before getting off the ground and spitting grass out of his mouth with a disgusted look.

"Ne Akaya! I didn't know you were ticklish!" Marui said a gleeful look on his face.

"Nobody knew until this brat! How the hell did you find out?" Akaya asked in a mock affronted tone.

"Inui-sempai wasn't the only data master on Seigaku." Ryoma said evasively. "I have my own channels and I would even say that my information is better."

"How did my data not show this?" Yanagi muttered.

"Prove it then." Marui said in clear challenge.

"When in kindergarten, Genichirou here promised Seiichi's sister that he would marry her." Ryoma said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Genichirou bushed darkly as his whole team turned to look at him. "You did what now?" Seiichi asked in amusement.

"Nothing Seiichi…nothing at all!" Genichirou stuttered.

"And Seiichi…" Ryoma was once again smirking devilishly but Seiichi hastily interrupted.

"I think it's about time we go in and get something to eat, yeah?"

"Nervous buchou?" Akaya asked with a smirk, wondering just what his buchou didn't want them to know about. If Ryoma's smirk was anything to go by then it was obviously something good.

"I just think that we should stop loitering outside the café. I'm also rather hungry too." Seiichi said with a sniff but he wasn't fooling anybody.

"As you wish, Seiichi." Ryoma said, giving him a mocking bow and proceeding to sweep over to the café doors. He held it open. "After you, dear king." He said teasingly.

"Why thank you, Ryoma." Seiichi said imperiously. Ryoma burst out laughing and followed him inside. The others came in and heard their buchou's quiet chuckles floating over to them. They were finally seated at a table and everyone looked over at Ryoma.

"What are you going to do now, Echizen?" Yagyuu asked.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Enough with the Echizen. It makes me feel like an old man." Ignoring Akaya's response of 'you are one!' he continued, "I think I will go stay at Shitenhouji for a while."

"Why there?" Jackal asked.

"Kintarou has been badgering me for a match since we split that ball in half." Ryoma said with a fond smile.

"Split the ball in half?" Seiichi asked, having never heard of this.

"Kintarou was impatient and didn't want to wait after they lost to you guys so we had a one point match. The match lasted almost an hour and we used so much power that the ball split in half; one half dropping on each side of the net and ending the match as a draw." Ryoma explained, remembering everyone's shocked look that day and laughing at the near identical ones he received now.

"You literally split the ball in half?" Marui asked dumbfounded.

"Yup." Ryoma agreed.

There was a stunned silence before Akaya remarked, "Is there anything you can't do?"

"There's plenty I can't do; trusting the right people for instance." Ryoma said, his countenance darkening.

"Will you come back?" Genichirou asked, deciding to more the conversation to less dangerous waters.

"Of course I will. I'm going to train with them for a while and then I will come back and have my revenge. And besides, I can't leave you guys all alone now can I? I will be joining Rikkaidai when I return." Ryoma said with a smile.

"I thought you were going to go to Shitenhouji?" Seiichi asked incredulously.

"I am…for training. I'm not going to school there. Rikkaidai will be my new school and Seigaku will learn just why it is not a good idea to mess with an Echizen." Ryoma said with a chilling smile.

**A/n. I hope this cleared some things up for you all. I saw your reviews and couldn't help but write this. I needed to get the brotherly fluff out of my head!**

**Hope you liked it!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Ryoma…" Yagyuu said, slightly nervous. "You don't want to do anything you might regret."

Ryoma gave an innocent smile. "Who me?" he asked before the look melted into a cold smirk and flat eyes. "I won't be the one regretting things, of that I can promise you."

Everyone, even Seiichi, felt a shiver go down their spines at the dark promise that saturated Ryoma's smooth voice.

"Momo will learn that fighting and petty insults cannot solve everything. Kaidoh will learn that friendship is precious and something to be treasured. Eiji's world will come crashing down around his ears. Oishi will learn that mothering everyone is dangerous. Inui will find that all his data is useless. Kawamura will wish that he quit tennis when he had the chance. And Tezuka…he will understand that he should respect his betters." Ryoma vowed darkly.

"And what of Fuji?" Jackal asked almost fearfully.

Ryoma's face gained the angelic look again and he smiled softly. "Fuji-sempai was the only one who tried to stop them. He will not feel my wrath, but instead will be protected. Who knows, maybe he will even help me."

They all felt their hearts melting as Ryoma tilted his head to the side cutely. Seeing him like that, they couldn't understand why Seigaku had betrayed him. Sure he could be a little devil sometimes, but it was endearing…as long as you weren't on the receiving end of it, that is. They all vowed to do what they could to protect Ryoma and care for him in their own way.

Just then, Ryoma's cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Sighing, he looked at the others.

"I have to take this. If you guys can hush for a few minutes, I will stay here. If not, I'm going someplace quiet."

When they all mimed zipping their lips, Ryoma answered the phone.

"Hai, oyaji?" he asked.

"_Where are you, Ryoma?"_ the Rikkaidai regulars faintly heard.

"I'm at a café a little ways away from the stadium we had Nationals in. I'm with Rikkaidai." Ryoma answered casually.

"_Why are you with Rikkaidai?" _the voice asked curiously.

Ryoma winced and took a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story. I want to go to Shitenhouji for a while."

"_Why?" _they heard the voice ask.

Ryoma took another deep breath and explained what had happened. Tears started flowing from his eyes and he angrily swiped them away. There was a shocked silence and then…

"_I will kill them."_ Ryoma's dad said casually.

"Oyaji!" Ryoma said in shock, his eyes widening.

"_No Ryoma. They deserve to die for doing what they did. I trust you already have plans made?" _his dad asked.

"Oh you can bet I do." Ryoma said coldly. "No terrible harm will come to them but I guarantee that they will suffer."

"_And going to Shitenhouji will help?" _Ryoma's dad asked.

"I will train there and get Shitenhouji on my side. With luck, I will get there before Seigaku has a chance to spread lies, as I have no doubt that they will even after I warned them." Ryoma said with a small scowl.

"_You still have your black notebook?"_

"Of course. It is with me all the time. They won't know what hit them." Ryoma said devilishly.

"_Okay, I will book you a flight and send you a text when I get it confirmed. You should probably start heading here soon so you can pack."_

"Hai, oyaji. If a Syusuke Fuji comes over, tell him to wait in my room. He was the only one who cared so I want to say goodbye." Ryoma said softly.

"_Will do Ryoma. Bye."_

"Later." Ryoma said and closed his phone with a sigh.

He felt two sets of arms wrap around him and he relaxed, surprised to find himself so tense.

"It will be okay, Ryoma. Just you wait." Seiichi whispered.

"You still have us and we will talk to the other schools and see what we can do." Genichirou promised causing Ryoma to smile.

"Thank you." He whispered, sliding his arms up and wrapping them around the two of them.

They stood like that for a few minutes before a clearing of a throat interrupted them. They looked around and saw that the food had arrived. The three disentangled themselves and sat down at their places. Conversation was light between all of them as they steadily ate the food.

"So this black book of yours…I'm assuming this is where you keep all of the data you gathered?" Renji asked curiously.

Ryoma smirked. "Of course. Inui uses a green notebook, how stupid is that? It's really easy to steal too. I've done that so many times and added all his data to mine."

"I don't suppose I could take a look at this book?" Renji asked hopefully.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Ryoma asked. He reached into his tennis bag and pulled out seven green notebooks and handed them to Renji. "You can have these though. I've already copied everything in them to mine."

Renji's eyes slid open in shock and sparkled with delight. "You're serious?" he asked, taking them carefully and holding them reverently.

"Naturally. There is one there for Momo, Kaidoh, Eiji, Oishi, Tezuka, Kawamura, and Inui himself. In them is everything you could possibly want to know; love interests, eating habits, tennis style, signature moves, secret techniques, and moves being developed. There are even recipes for Inui juice." Ryoma said, smiling at the childlike glee spreading across Renji's face.

"You're the best little brother ever, Ryoma!" he said excitedly, getting up and hugging Ryoma happily. Ryoma looked shocked for a minute before smiling happily.

"Give them hell, Renji." He said back.

"Of course." Renji said as he went back to his chair and immediately began studying the notebooks. He picked up the one on Tezuka first and slowly flipped through it intently, adding notes to his own notebook.

"I hope you plan on sharing those, Renji!" Marui said.

Ryoma's phone went off and he checked the message. He cursed and stood up, grabbing his bag in the process. "My plane leaves in three hours! What was my baka oyaji thinking?" Ryoma said, a panicky look entering his eyes. "I have to go!"

"Calm down Ryoma! You'll be fine." Akaya said, smiling at the frazzled glare that was sent his way.

Ryoma quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper as the others stood up from their chairs. He gave the paper to Seiichi.

"This is my cell number. Make sure you give it to the others and keep in contact with me. We can Skype too if necessary. My name that I use is on that paper as well so you can find me." Ryoma said in a rush.

Seiichi laughed softly and wrapped Ryoma in a hug. "Don't worry so much, you will go prematurely gray. We will be fine and I promise that we will text you every day. Skype too if you wish."

Ryoma ignored the gray hair jab and focused on Seiichi's voice. "Okay." Ryoma said, drawing back to smile softly at Seiichi. "Thank you Seiichi…for everything."

Seiichi ruffled his hair and stepped back so the others could say goodbye.

"See you later, Ryoma. Take care of yourself. Don't get too soft." Genichirou said, embracing Ryoma softly.

Marui, Akaya, and Niou ruffled his hair affectionately. "Don't forget to send us pictures and have fun.

Yagyuu and Jackal offered handshakes.

Renji hugged him tightly. "Be careful, Ryo. Don't push yourself too hard." He said in concern.

"I will be careful, Renji-nii." Ryoma said, smiling happily at the nickname. "I will text you guys as soon as I get settled in."

"Okay Ryoma. Take care." Niou said with a thumbs up.

Ryoma sent them all one last look and walked out the door, not turning back so the Rikkaidai regulars would not see his glistening eyes.

"He will be alright, won't he?" Akaya asked worriedly.

"Of course he will. Ryoma is strong. He will fight back and win. He has us and we can talk to him every day if we want. For now though, we should start talking to the other schools and see what they know." Yagyuu said with agreeing nods from the others. It was time that Ryoma starts getting his justice.

**A/n. And that's it for this one! Next chapter will see Fuji and Shitenhouji's reaction to Ryoma's arrival. Hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm home! Oyaji, what in the name of Kami were you thinking when you booked that flight?" Ryoma called as he stepped in his house. He was still panicking a bit but his phone going off made him pause. He pulled it out and looked at the message from an unknown number.

**Take a deep breath, Ryo-nii.**

Ryoma smiled. "Will do Renji. Thanks!" he sent back, saving the number to his contacts.

He slipped his shoes off and walked up the stairs to his room. He threw open the door and flung a suitcase out of his closet onto his bed, almost hitting the figure sitting there.

"Whoa, careful there Ryoma!" the figure said with amusement.

"Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma asked, whirling around to see a sad-looking Syusuke Fuji sitting on his bed.

"You don't have to call me that, Ryoma. You can call me Syusuke." Fuji said with a small smile. His eyes opened, revealing his glimmering cerulean eyes. "How are you doing?"

Ryoma's face fell. "I'm alright Fuji-sen…Syusuke." Ryoma corrected hastily. "I've been hanging out with the Rikkaidai regulars and they've promised to help me. I have two brothers now! Renji-nii and Akaya-nii." Ryoma said happily.

"Saa, did you now?" Syusuke asked, feeling a slight flash of pain that he was not one of Ryoma's 'brothers'.

"Yup! Masaharu, Hiroshi, and Kuwahara are really nice too and Bunta might be another brother…I'm not certain." Ryoma said, tilting his head thoughtfully.

Syusuke smiled at how cute Ryoma looked but quickly sobered, his blue eyes flashing. "I'm sorry for what happened, Ryoma. I never even knew that they thought like that. I swear to you that I never thought of you like that." Fuji said, his eyes pleading for Ryoma to believe him.

"Please don't hate me." He whispered softly, tears slipping down his cheeks.

Ryoma's heart clenched when Syusuke started crying. Before he knew what he was doing, Ryoma gathered Syusuke up in his arms and held him tightly.

"I could never hate you, Syu-nii." Ryoma whispered, not seeing the shocked look that was thrown his way. "You were the only one that wasn't saying terrible things about me. How could I ever hate you?" Ryoma stroked Syusuke's hair softly.

"You think of me as a brother?" Syusuke asked slowly, still in shock.

Ryoma gasped as he realized his mistake. "I'm so sorry Syusuke! I never should have said that! I'm the worst person to have as a brother! You would probably be ashamed to call me a brother! Kami I'm so stupid! Just forget I even…MMPH!" Ryoma was cut off as Syusuke smiled a breathtaking smile at him and gathered him up in a tight hug.

"I am so incredibly happy that you called me brother! I've thought of you as my little brother since you came to Seigaku and was hoping you thought of me that way. Yuuta will be happy when he hears that he has another brother!" Syusuke exclaimed happily.

Ryoma was bewildered but happy nonetheless. He was glad that Syusuke wasn't mad at him. The endearment had honestly just slipped out before he could stop it.

"So where exactly are you going, Ryo?" Syusuke asked, watching with amusement as Ryoma flew from his arms and started to rush around his room, throwing clothes onto the bed.

"I'm leaving for Shitenhouji for a while." Ryoma said, prompting a frown from Syusuke. "I'm going to train and get stronger then I will come back and give Seigaku what they deserve." Ryoma said with a chilling smirk.

Syusuke's smirk matched Ryoma's. "That's my little brother. Don't let them get away with anything. Do you have anything in mind yet?"

Ryoma's smirk became mischievous. He whispered in Syusuke's ear and a smirk grew across his face. "Oh that's good! That's very good! When did you get so devious, Ryo?" he asked with a dark chuckle.

"I've always been like this, Syu-nii, but I hid that part away from others for a while." Ryoma said with a smile.

A curious look came over Syusuke's face as he remembered something that had been bothering him since it happened. "How were you able to knock Momo flat earlier?" he asked curiously.

Ryoma smiled. "Momo likes to think that he's a good fighter but when he comes across someone with actual training…he cannot compare."

"You're saying that…?" Syusuke trailed off in shock.

"I've held a black belt in martial arts since I was eight." Ryoma said, savoring the look of shock near identical to the one the Rikkaidai regulars had worn earlier that day.

"How did no one know about this?" he asked incredulously.

"Inui's data isn't as perfect as everyone likes to think." Ryoma said blandly as he finished packing his clothes. He moved into the adjoining bathroom and began packing his toiletries into a smaller carry-on.

"So what can I do to help you?" Syusuke asked after a moment of silence.

"The biggest thing that you could do is steal Inui's notebooks every once in a while and copy them into a different one and send that one to me." Ryoma said slowly.

"What do you need this information for?" Syusuke asked.

"To add to my information of course." Ryoma said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"You are truly something else, Ryo." Syusuke said, shaking his head slowly.

Ryoma smiled cheekily. "You know you love me."

"Of course." Syusuke agreed readily.

"RYOMA! It's time to go!" Nanjiro yelled.

Ryoma looked at Syusuke and was slightly surprised to see tears sparkling in his sharp blue eyes. "Be careful, okay? Text me every day." He said a little breathlessly.

"Of course, nii-san. This is my Skype too so we can call each other. The Rikkaidai regulars have it too. Take care of yourself while I'm gone and don't forget to get those notebooks for me every so often." Ryoma said with a sad smile.

Syusuke smiled and walked Ryoma to the door of his home, helping him lug his bags to the door. "Have a good time and don't slack on your training." Syusuke said sternly.

"Hai." Ryoma agreed. He took his bag from Syusuke and embraced him one last time. "This is not goodbye, Syu-nii; simply see you later. I will be back." He whispered in Syusuke's ear.

Syusuke drew back and smiled before turning and walking away from Ryoma for what would be the last time in a few years.

*********Time Skip*********

Ryoma stepped off the plane and was immediately assaulted by someone jumping on his back.

"Hello Kintarou." Ryoma said blandly.

"Awww Koshimae! You're supposed to at least act surprised." Kintarou whined unhappily.

Ryoma chuckled a bit and pried Kintarou's arms off of him. He took a deep breath and smiled. It was good to be away from the drama and pettiness of Seigaku. His mood sobered when he thought about how much shit he will have to wade through when he gets back.

"Echizen…I think we should talk." Shiraishi said from behind him.

Ryoma turned around and was met with the grim faces of the rest of Shitenhouji's tennis members. He sighed and replied with an equally grim tone, "I take it that you've talked to Seigaku then, yeah?"

"We've heard some pretty interesting things from Seigaku." Zaizen said cryptically.

Ryoma sighed again. "They certainly didn't waste a lot of time. I suppose you deserve an explanation of the truth since I will be staying here for a while. I have no doubt that you have been told lies as to what actually happened."

"Then what did happen?" Chitose asked.

"I was betrayed after I won the Nationals for Seigaku. I had left my jersey in the locker room and when I went back to get it, I heard them talking about me. They only used me to win the Nationals. They didn't want me for me, or to be my friend, they only wanted me to get them as far as I could before they got rid of me. Syu-nii was the only one who stood up for me." Ryoma explained with a weary sigh.

Shitenhouji looked shocked.

"But Seigaku said…" Oshitari started before Ryoma cut him off.

"That I stole all their moves and left because they had outlived their usefulness?" Ryoma asked sarcastically, not expecting to actually be right.

"How the hell did you know that?" Koharu asked.

"Because I know my former team." Ryoma said with a slightly haunted look in his eyes. "I guess I just didn't know them enough."

"It'll be okay, Koshimae! Just you wait." Kintarou said, drawing him into a surprisingly gentle embrace.

Ryoma's breath hitched and he felt tears starting to gather in his eyes. _"Damn I need to quit crying! This is getting faintly ridiculous!"_ he thought angrily.

"Just let it all out, Ryoma. It's okay to cry sometimes…especially with what was done to you. I'm here and so is the rest of my team." Kintarou said gently, throwing a dangerous look at the rest of his team, silently warning them to believe Ryoma.

As if a dam burst, tears sprang from Ryoma's eyes quickly. He sobbed quietly and Zaizen threw him a sympathetic look.

"Come on, Ryoma. I'll get your bags and we will go back to Shitenhouji, yeah? Zaizen-senpai, will you take him, please?" Kintarou asked quietly.

"Of course." Zaizen acquiesced.

He gently lifted Ryoma up into his arms and Ryoma instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck, protesting the whole time.

"I can walk you know." He said in a watery voice.

"Hush now, Echizen. Just let someone take care of you for a while, okay?" Zaizen said gently.

Ryoma sighed and tightened his arms a bit, burying his face in Zaizen's chest and lightly sobbed. Zaizen tightened his hold on Ryoma and swore to get revenge on the Seigaku players for harming Ryoma like that. It was heartbreaking to see such a normally strong, stoic youth reduced to this despairing, sorrowful boy.

"_I swear Echizen; those Seigaku assholes won't get away with this. I will make them pay, whether you want me to or not." _Zaizen swore to himself as he started walking to Shitenhouji, Ryoma held snugly against his chest and the others surrounding them.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Ugh! What happened? My head feels like someone is using a jackhammer on it!" _Ryoma thought groggily. He had a splitting headache, his head felt heavy, and his eyes were itchy. _"Where the hell am I anyway?"_

"Do you think he's ok? He's been asleep for a long time." Ryoma heard someone close to him say. He slowly and carefully relaxed so that whoever was there would still think he was asleep.

"Koshimae's been through a lot recently. He will probably be screwed up emotionally for a while." Ryoma heard a voice he recognized immediately say compassionately. _Kintarou. _

"How did you accept his story so quickly? You've got to admit that Seigaku's story seemed more plausible."

"Because I know Koshimae." Kintarou said grimly. "We played that one point match and I understood so much about him from that match. You guys don't know him as well because you didn't face him across the net. You didn't get to have your spirit clash against his. After experiencing that, you can't just walk away without changing."

There was a heavy silence as whoever else was there digested what Kintarou had just revealed.

"Wow Kin-chan…that was pretty deep stuff. And you learned this from a one-point match against Echizen?" Shiraishi asked incredulously.

"He's a powerful player." Kintarou said in confirmation. "I don't think that he truly realizes the image he has when he plays and the feelings he projects to those who play against him. Koshimae holds so much loneliness and pain inside him that it just bursts out of him when he plays. Tennis is an outlet for Koshimae and I think everyone can understand that to a certain point."

"It sounds like you and Echizen have a bond or something." A gruff voice said in slight confusion.

"Ryoma and I are twins. That day, I saw a lot of myself reflected back at me and something inside of me linked with him. I tried so hard to get him to notice me and play against me that, when he finally did, it was like our very souls resonated with each other." Kintarou said passionately.

"You barely even know each other!" a voice Ryoma recognized to be Oshitari's said incredulously. "You only ever really talked to him that one time."

"That's where you're wrong." Kintarou said smugly. "Koshimae and I Skype all the time. We also text a lot too."

"How did we not know about this?" Shiraishi asked in shock.

"You guys never asked so you weren't privy to the information." Kintarou said cheekily.

"So what are we going to do?" another voice asked.

"I am going to help Koshimae as much as I can and, when the time comes, I'm going to give Seigaku hell." Kintarou said viciously. "Nobody messes with my twin and gets away with it."

"I'm going to help too." A voice right next to Ryoma said determinedly. Ryoma felt fingers being gently carded through his hair and had to fight hard to keep from leaning into the touch.

"Zaizen? What is your explanation? You don't really know Echizen at all." Chitose asked curiously.

"Did you guys see him at the airport?" the voice now identified as Zaizen asked. "He was a wreck; a broken shell of himself. Do you remember the feisty man we saw at the National Tournament finals? I will not stand back and let Seigaku completely shatter someone who was so full of life and joy. I cannot stand to see someone so strong hurting so badly." He said strongly.

"So what are the rest of you going to do? Will you stand by Ryoma against all those who wish to hurt him?" Kintarou asked seriously.

"Of course we will. We can't let our two youngest members handle this alone, now can we?" Shiraishi said. "I understand what Zaizen was saying but I am a little confused as to your meaning Kin-chan."

"Play a match with him and you will understand." Kintarou said plainly.

"If he will agree." Shiraishi said. "Let's leave him alone for a while so he can rest. We should probably sit down with Echizen when he wakes up and figure out if there is anyone else in his corner."

The voices faded and Ryoma was lulled back to sleep by the gentle fingers running through his hair.

The next time that Ryoma woke up, a ray of sun had fallen across his eyes. He slowly sat up and his hand brushed something soft. He looked down and was shocked to see a head of messy black hair snoozing on his bed. Ryoma's eyes followed the black hair to a pierced ear, then down to arms crossed underneath the softly snoring head. After that was the body leaning over in the chair. It made Ryoma wince to think about all the stiff muscles that the man would have when he woke up.

Deducing that this was Zaizen, who had also been playing with his hair while he was 'asleep', Ryoma began running his fingers through Zaizen's silky hair.

Zaizen breathed a soft sigh before slowly blinking his moss-colored eyes open.

"Echizen?" he asked dazedly, mouth opening wide in a yawn. He sat up and immediately winced as a sharp pain barreled through his neck and down his spine.

"Why were you sleeping in a chair by my bed? That had to have been uncomfortable." Ryoma asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Zaizen ruffled Ryoma's hair playfully. "You looked like you could use the company."

"I was asleep." Ryoma said flatly.

"Your point?" Zaizen asked. "Also, I knew you were being an Eavesdropping Earl and didn't want to snitch on you."

"How the hell did you know I was awake?" Ryoma asked.

Zaizen leaned closer, until their lips were only inches apart. "I could feel you tensing, Ryoma. People don't tense like that in their sleep." He breathed, looking into Ryoma's golden eyes for a long moment.

Ryoma felt his face heat up a bit. Looking into Zaizen's verdant pools, Ryoma realized that he could easily get lost in their swirling depths and the mysteries they hid within them.

They were leaning even closer, lips only a hairsbreadth apart when the spell was broken by a door slamming loudly and Kintarou's voice loudly proclaiming, "You also need to work on your sleeping face, Koshimae. I could tell you were faking from a mile away."

The two broke apart and Ryoma flushed furiously, refusing to meet Zaizen's amused eyes.

"I'm sorry." Ryoma whispered with his head down. "I woke up and was rather disoriented for a bit. The only voice I immediately recognized was yours and you seemed to be having an important conversation so I didn't want to interrupt." Ryoma explained.

Two fingers gently lifted his chin up and turned his head to face Zaizen. "You don't have to be ashamed of eavesdropping. It's only natural, especially when you hear your name mentioned." Zaizen said softly with a small smile playing on his mouth.

Ryoma blushed faintly before mentally giving himself a smack.

"_What on Earth has gotten into you, Ryoma!? Snap out of it! Sure Zaizen is incredibly sexy but that doesn't mean you should be blushing and fumbling like a schoolgirl! Where's your dignity?" _Ryoma thought to himself in slight disgust at his less than productive actions.

**Meanwhile…**

"I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT…TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT

SO SEXY IT HURTS

AND I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY CAR…TOO SEXY FOR MY CAR

TOO SEXY BY FAR

I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY HAT

TOO SEXY FOR MY HAT…WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT…"

"You better have a good reason for interrupting Ore-sama's weekend, Yukimura. Ore-sama is a very busy person and cannot deal with plebeians every day of the week." A man snapped once he picked up the right cell phone from the drawer he kept his many cell phones in.

"Why hello to you too, Atobe! It's very important. I wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't. Meet me at the café a few blocks from the arena where the finals were held; I need to discuss something with you." Yukimura said before hanging up.

Atobe gave his phone a long look before closing it. "Stupid Yukimura…thinks he can order Ore-sama around whenever he likes. He should be awed at Ore-sama's prowess…NOT ordering him around." He grumbled to himself as he got ready to leave. "Maybe Ore-sama should arrive in a helicopter just to spite Yukimura."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n. This one is dedicated to TennisuNoOjisama in thanks for their wonderful comments. I am so sorry that I have not updated lately but here is the long awaited update!**

"Be awed at the sight of my prowess, plebeians!" Atobe said loudly when he walked through the doors of the café. If you looked behind him, you could see a lot of servants rolling up a gold carpet and some musicians packing their instruments away.

"Keigo…what a surprise! How nice to see you!" Yukimura exclaimed with false surprise, his cerulean eyes flashing.

"Seiichi. Why are you among these plebeians?" Atobe asked, knowing something must be wrong for Yukimura to request a meeting around so many commoners.

"Oh you know…just getting a cup of coffee." Yukimura said offhandedly.

Atobe huffed. "You should go somewhere less crowded next time, ahn?"

"So sorry that it doesn't meet your standards." Yukimura said, amusement sparkling faintly in his eyes. "Come, the backroom is open."

Atobe inclined his head and the two tennis players walked to the back.

"Now what was so important that you interrupted me in my home and ordered me out to this dreadfully common place?" Atobe asked once he had seated himself at the table.

"Have you talked to anyone from Seigaku lately?" Yukimura asked semi-casually.

"I spoke to Tezuka this morning. I called to tell him that I was going to challenge that brat to a match. I developed a new technique and I cannot think of anyone more suited to try it on. When I mentioned the brat, Tezuka hung up on me! Me of all people! How dare he hang up on Ore-sama!" Atobe said with outrage.

"And did Tezuka mention anything about Ryoma before he hung up?" Yukimura asked slowly, carefully observing Atobe.

"Now that you say something…he sounded upset about something…like he was really tearing himself up. But what has that got to do with anything?" Atobe asked, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"So he regrets what they did, does he? Well it's too late for that." Yukimura muttered mutinously. He raised his voice so Atobe could hear and asked, "What do you know about what happened after Nationals?"

"After Nationals?" Atobe parroted. "Nothing. Ore-sama did not have time to stick around and watch that brat's head inflate. Ore-sama and his team left right after your match finished." Atobe said curiosity subtly laced in his voice.

"I was talking with Genichirou and Akaya when Ryoma walked over and thanked me for the match. We were talking then he said that he left his jersey so Akaya went back with him. Ryoma was so sweet…I've never seen that side of him before." Yukimura said with a small smile.

"The point?" Atobe asked.

"Ryoma came running back in tears, Akaya a few feet behind him. They had heard Seigaku talking about how they used him to get to the Nationals and that they could kick him off the team now since he had used up all his worth. They said some really nasty things and Ryoma was devastated. The only person who didn't go along with it was Fuji." Yukimura explained, remembered anger in his voice and posture.

Atobe sat there in shock. Seigaku had betrayed their kohai? The one they were supposed to protect and help above all? Sempais are supposed to defend their kohais and protect them. How could they use and throw away their kohai like that?

"You're certain?" Atobe asked, licking his suddenly dry lips.

"Absolutely positive. Why would I lie about something like that?" Yukimura asked.

"And you're sure that Echizen didn't just make everything up?" Atobe asked.

"Considering Akaya heard it too, I would say that he did not." Yukimura snapped heatedly. When Atobe raised his hands in the universal sign for _I surrender_, he continued in a softer voice. "You didn't _see_ him, Keigo. It was like something just broke inside him. The light was gone from his eyes and he was just…lifeless. His innocence was ripped away in that moment. He had a haunted _dead_ look in his eyes that sent chills down your spine."

A tear trickled down Yukimura's cheek and he angrily swiped it away. "Those bastards at Seigaku did that to him! They are the ones who will be to blame for however Ryoma is when he comes back. It's all their fault! How could they even think about doing that to someone as bright and beautiful as Ryoma?"

Atobe truly felt like a terrible person as he watched Yukimura's angry tirade. But he had to make sure. He had to play Devil's Advocate to be absolutely sure that he had his facts straight. He did not want to throw his support, and by extension his team's, behind someone who was only saying these things for attention.

"I'm sorry Seiichi." Atobe said in an uncharacteristically somber voice. "I just needed to know that this wasn't just an elaborate ploy for attention before I decided to help. I will talk to my team later and make them aware of the situation."

"So you're going to help?" Yukimura asked cautiously.

"Of course! I'm the only one who can insult that gaki. No one else, least of all Seigaku, has the right to crush Echizen. They need to pay for daring to hurt what's mine." Atobe growled.

"Yours, huh?" Yukimura asked softly in amusement.

Atobe blushed, realizing that he had perhaps said too much. He hurriedly tried to backtrack. "Yes mine. Mine to challenge whenever I feel like it and protect like a good sempai should, since is actual sempais obviously don't feel the need."

"Sure…whatever you say. Know this…more than one person is after Ryoma's heart. Don't get in my way." Yukimura said in a low voice, eyes piercing Atobe for good measure.

"Challenge accepted, Seiichi." Atobe murmured with a smirk.

**Time for some Seigaku**

The air at Seigaku had greatly changed since Ryoma had ran away crying. The previous elation that everyone had felt had now drifted off into despair. There was one person, however, that was blissfully oblivious to the depressed atmosphere around him.

"What the hell has you guys so upset for? Come on! We won the Nationals for Kami's sake!" Momo said loudly as he walked into the locker room after school was over.

He received six disapproving looks and a dark glare in return.

"Oh I don't know! Maybe it's the fact that Echizen's gone! Or how about the fact that the last time we saw him he was I tears! No…I've got it! It's because we used him and threw him away like nothing!" Kaidoh yelled angrily.

"Why do you guys care so much about _him_ anyway? We only let him on the team because he is the son of Samurai Nanjiro. Honestly! You should be glad he's gone! Do you know how hard it was to pretend to be friends with him and pick him up every morning? And he punched me! He gave me a black eye!" Momo whined.

"That black eye was your own fault! If you hadn't insulted him then you could have avoided the fist to the face. I think you deserved more than that, quite frankly." Oishi said with a disdainful look.

"But Oishi-sempai!" Momo whined petulantly. "Aren't you even going to help me?"

"No. I refuse to help someone who tosses around hurtful words and feels no regrets for their actions." Oishi hissed venomously.

"You guys are so upset over that damn kid! Get the hell over it! It wasn't just my idea, you know." Momo exploded angrily.

"You're right…it wasn't just your idea. It was all of ours, except for Fuji. He was the only one to see Echizen how we all should have. We all regret what we did and, if I could, I would go back in time and tell myself not to do it, that it screws everything up." Kawamura said with a sigh.

"But why? Why do you all suddenly regret treating him the way we did?" Momo asked.

"It sounded great in thought but that was before he knew. When he didn't know, it was so much easier. But the moment he found out, I could see something break. I could see the individual bonds we had all formed with him completely shatter. We were his family and that bridge burned right before our eyes. He was just a boy! And we are the ones that broke Echizen Ryoma!" Tezuka said angrily.

Momo was surprised. He had never received such a dressing down from his captain before and he wasn't quite sure how to react to it. He decided to just react like usual; with anger. That seemed to be doing a great job so far. "You guys are all a bunch of sissies! You should be thanking me for what I'm doing."

"And just what _are_ you doing?" Fuji asked dangerously, eyes open and glaring coldly at Momo.

"I'm telling the other schools that _he_ took our moves then left because we lost our usefulness. I've only gotten to Shitenhouji so far but I was going to do Hyotei later today." Momo said with a proud smile, only for it to falter at the glares he received for his troubles.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Eiji shouted loudly.

"Under no circumstances are you to do anything of the sort! You _will_ call Shitenhouji and tell them of your mistake." Tezuka ordered darkly, shaking in his restrained fury.

Momo's face turned red. "I will not! You have no authority over me outside the tennis courts so you can't stop me! If you won't do something about that brat then I will!" he said before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

The room fell into silence as everyone contemplated how to fix the damage that Momoshiro was causing.


	7. Chapter 7

"Yes Renji I'm fine. Of course I've been sleeping Seiichi. No Genichirou, I have not gone soft." Ryoma said, rolling his eyes in exaggeration at the Rikkaidai regulars he was Skyping.

"Well, you didn't call us right away like you said you would so we got worried." Akaya explained gruffly.

"Yeah I may or may not have found out something that made me a little angry and I kind of fell asleep from being emotionally drained. Shitenhouji took very god care of me." Ryoma explained in an airy tone.

"What the hell did Seigaku do now?" Marui asked darkly.

"Shiraishi said that a little bit before I got there, they had received a call from Seigaku. Apparently, Seigaku is saying that I stole their moves and left because they outgrew their usefulness." Ryoma rolled his eyes again. "It's really quite immature now that I think about it."

Rikkaidai got dark looks on their faces. Couldn't Seigaku just leave Ryoma alone? Didn't they think they've done enough?

"I will be certain to talk to them then. You didn't steal anyone's moves and they have no right to be telling others this. They should be praising you like the prince you are…you deserve that and more, Ryoma." Seiichi said with a tender smile.

Ryoma blushed. "Seiichi…" he whined. "I'm not a prince."

"Yes you are, Ryoma. You don't realize how regal you are. Isn't that right, Gen?" Seiichi asked with a wicked sparkle in his eyes.

Genichirou looked startled for a moment before blushing slightly and pulling his hat lower over his eyes. "Of course." He agreed.

"Well would you look at that? Our Vice-Captain is embarrassed! I think he picked up your habit, Ryo!" Akaya said giddily. It wasn't often that you saw Sanada showing emotion, let alone embarrassment.

Genichirou boinked him on the head lightly. "Hush you." He said in warning.

Akaya backed off hastily. He did NOT want to run hundreds of laps!

Ryoma was bemused. He had never been called regal before and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. He was nothing special. Just a short boy with long seaweed colored hair and stupid dandelion eyes that were slanted like a cat's. He was sure his attitude left a lot to be desired as well. Ryoma voiced these thoughts and was surprised to hear another voice, though surprising but not unwelcome.

"You truly do not know how enticing you are, brat."

"Monkey King!" Ryoma asked in shock. "What the hell are you doing there…and did you just say I was enticing?"

"Not was, Ryoma. You are. As to what I'm doing…I'm telling you that I support you. My team and I will do everything in our power to help you and make those Seigaku morons pay for what they did. They will regret every word, action and thought they ever had when I'm done with them." Atobe threatened determinedly. No one there had any doubt that he would do as he promised.

Ryoma's eyes were suspiciously moist after that but he forcefully pushed the tears back and smiled softly. "Thank you Atobe. You have no idea how much this truly means to me."

"You can call me Keigo you know. It won't kill you." Atobe said with a smile. He was sure that the implications of him giving Ryoma permission to use his first name were not lost on Ryoma.

"Of course it will, Monkey King." Ryoma said in a fake haughty tone, but his smile acknowledged his acceptance.

"Fine." Atobe said. "As if I wanted a brat like you to call me by my first name anyway. And quit calling me Monkey King! Such a name is unbefitting of someone of my stature." He said with a huff. The teasing glint in his eyes belied his tone.

"Stature my ass." Ryoma muttered but Atobe sticking his tongue out at Ryoma showed that someone had heard.

"Did you just stick your tongue out at me?!" Ryoma asked incredulously.

"Why of course not! Ore-sama is much too dignified to be doing something as immature as that." Atobe said haughtily, sniffing for good measure.

"Whatever you say, Monkey King." Ryoma said with a grin. Atobe growled.

Rikkaidai was just watching in amusement. Their Ryoma was the only person they knew that could get Atobe so riled up. Atobe seemed to shed his aristocratic veneer somewhat when he was around Ryoma and it was a refreshing change.

"Okay you two. You should probably stop glaring at each other before the computers catch on fire and then we will be royally screwed." Marui said in amusement.

Atobe switched his glare to Marui and Ryoma asked, "How's the data copying going, Renji-nii?"

"It's very enlightening. I have more dirt on Seigaku than I had ever hoped I would get. Did you know that Tezuka sleeps with a stuffed unicorn?" Renji asked, a huge grin splitting his face.

…

"No way!" Yagyuu exclaimed in shock. "Stoic, quiet, studious Tezuka sleeps with a unicorn?!"

"I was shocked too. That's definitely not the most interesting fact in these notebooks though. Here's a rather gross one. Momo has been sleeping with his mother for four years." Renji said.

"By sleeping do you mean…?" Jackal asked, making a rather crude gesture to get his point across.

Everyone's face turned green at Renji's confirming nod. "There isn't anything else that's weird in there, right?" Akaya asked, having actually gagged a little bit.

"There's plenty of interesting things. Kaidoh had sexual relations with a cat." Renji said, making everyone turn green again.

"Kami Renji! That's enough! I don't want to hear anymore!" Akaya screamed, covering his ears.

"Not even if I told you that Oishi…"

"NO!" he was interrupted.

Renji laughed loudly and soon everyone joined in. "How the hell did you find all this stuff out?" Seiichi asked Ryoma.

All eyes turned towards the computer screen and Ryoma smirked at them. "A true master never reveals their secrets." He said mysteriously.

Everyone seemed to deflate at that. "You're no fun." Marui pouted childishly.

"I know." Ryoma replied with a laugh.

"Well I had better go for now. I hear Shitenhouji coming. I'll talk to you guys later, yeah?" Ryoma asked.

"Of course. You aren't getting rid of us that easily. Although, Renji might not be here. He might still be running laps for putting those images in my head." Genichirou said with a frown.

Renji gulped slightly.

"Alright. Talk to you guys later." Ryoma said.

"Later." They said. As they were about to click out of the window, they heard Ryoma say, "Oh and one more thing. Thanks again, Keigo." Then the screen went blank.

It wasn't until much later back in his mansion that Keigo realized that Ryoma had called him by his first name for the first time.

**At a phone booth with Momo**

"Hello? My name is Momoshiro. You might not remember me but I hung around Ryoma, the brat that always humiliated your family."

Momo listened to the reply for a minute before responding. "No I was never friends with him. It was only a front so we could win the Nationals."

There was another reply. "I'm calling because the brat humiliated me recently and I'm getting revenge. I was hoping you would want to get some revenge of your own. He needs to be knocked down a peg and I know just the thing that should do it."

Momo let out a shark-like predatory grin when he heard the reply. "Great! Here is what I had in mind…" he explained the plan and, after a few minutes, laughed heartily. "I hadn't thought of that but it sounds great! Here is my cell phone number. Call or text if you get any new ideas."

Momo hung up the phone a few minutes later and whistled happily as he walked the familiar route home. He was halfway there when he remembered that he forgot to call Hyotei and tell them about Ryoma supposedly stealing their moves.

_Oh well._ He shrugged mentally. _I got something way better out of that phone call._

He continued to whistle jauntily until he got to his front door. "Mom! I'm home!" he called as he removed his shoes.

"Hello Momo." His other said as she walked into his line of sight. His jaw dropped and his brain disconnected when he saw his mother standing before him naked.

"Where's dad?" he asked quickly.

"He will be gone for a week so we can have a lot of fun." His mother said with a wide grin.

Momo got an answering grin on his face. His mother had refused to put out for him for a few months because he had been failing English. He had been forced to seek his entertainment somewhere else and that Sakuno girl was not nearly as fun. She kept screaming no so he had to gag her and tie her wrists and feet when she started fighting. Now _that_ had been a great idea.

He quivered in excitement as he followed his naked mother into his parents' bedroom, eyes on her firm ass the whole time. He could almost feel her tightness around his dick and that thought just made him go even harder.

It was going to be a great week!


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey guys." Ryoma said with a grin as he closed his laptop.

"Skyping Rikkaidai?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

"Yeah. Renji-nii and Akaya-nii, not to mention the other Rikkai members, get worried if they don't hear from me so I'm supposed to Skype them at least once a day." Ryoma said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Shitenhouji exchanged amused looks and Kintarou glomped Ryoma.

"Koshimae! Buchou wants to play a match with you and I want to do our one-point match. Can we, please?" Kintarou asked from on top of Ryoma. They had both fallen on the floor when Kintarou had jumped Ryoma.

"Perhaps if you will quit straddling me so I can get off the floor." Ryoma said blandly. Kintarou looked down at their bodies and flushed when he noticed that he was indeed straddling Ryoma's hips.

"Sorry Koshimae!" Kintarou said with a laugh before getting up and giving Ryoma a hand up.

"I'll grab my racket and meet you guys at the courts." Ryoma said with a sigh. The others agreed and left the room, which also happened to be the nurse's office as he had not had a chance to get an actual room.

"So Keigo and his team are behind me, but I wonder who will not be. There is no way that everyone will believe me so who will it be?" Ryoma asked himself as he lifted his racket from his bag. With a sigh, he cast away all thoughts of who would or would not believe him and centered himself as he made his way to the courts.

"Which would you like to do first?" Ryoma asked coolly when he walked in the courts.

"We figured that it would be easier for you and Kin-chan to have your match before we have our match." Shiraishi said. "If that meets your approval?"

"Che whatever." Ryoma muttered, adjusting his cap lower over his eyes and moving off to stretch his muscles out. Kintarou grinned and laughed happily before taking his position on the other side of the net, already stretched.

"You can serve Koshimae!" he called over the net.

Ryoma sighed quietly and went to the serving position. He bounced the ball a few times before throwing it high and jumping, smacking the ball so it whizzed through the air.

"There's the Twist Serve." Zaizen said with a small smile as they heard Kintarou gushing over the serve while he returned it.

"Wow Koshimae! Your Twist Serve has gotten quicker! Its angle is sharper too!"

"I've had a lot of time to practice since we last played Kintarou." Ryoma explained in a slight monotone as he easily returned the ball over the net.

"Shall we pick up the pace? Give my team a little show, ne?" Kintarou asked with a full-blown grin stretched across his face.

"An." Ryoma agreed with a matching grin, though his had a lot more mischievousness in it, not to mention the wicked gleam in his eyes. They began hitting the ball to the deep corners each time with a speed that Eiji's keen eyes would have had trouble following. Ryoma was using his special Split Step and Kintarou was utilizing most of the gymnastics moves he knew to keep the ball in front of him.

"Look at how fast they are going! Cool!" Kenya breathed, hardly believing that someone could play tennis that fast. It was inconceivable and he would not have believed it had he not been watching it; hell, he was having a hard time believing it and he _was_ standing there watching.

The match hit the 30 minute mark and Ryoma was beginning to lose himself in the feeling of playing tennis, the motions, and the rhythmic thwack of the ball on the concrete.

"_You're worthless."_

Ryoma faltered a step, allowing the ball to almost get passed him before hurriedly lunging for it and sending it back over the net.

"Koshimae?" Kintarou asked in concern. He had seen Ryoma falter and was really worried. Ryoma never faltered in his Split Step.

"I'm fine…just stumbled on a small rock." Ryoma reassured, trying to cast the thought from his head.

"_We only used you to take the National Championship from Rikkaidai."_

Ryoma hit the ball a little too hard and it landed right on the baseline on Kintarou's side. Kintarou felt his worry increase a notch; Ryoma never hits the ball out.

Ryoma shook it off once again and narrowed his eyes when Kintarou came up to the net. He prepared to lob the ball and concentrated so it would land right in front of the baseline.

"_Why would anyone want to be friends with a pathetic worm like you? You are unworthy of love or friendship."_

Ryoma lurched to a stop and he watched the ball land in front of his feet with glazed eyes. He stared blankly down at his feet, the voices of his ex-team mates echoing in his head. A few tears slipped down his face, unnoticed by all but Kintarou, who was close enough to see underneath his cap.

"Koshimae?" Kintarou asked concernedly. He kept his voice gentle and vaulted the net so he could see what was wrong. He put a comforting hand on Ryoma's shoulder.

"I'm sorry…but I have to go." Ryoma choked out. He shrugged off Kintarou's hand and spun around, running out of the courts and up to the main building as the rest of Shitenhouji's tennis team joined Kintarou on the court.

"What happened? He just stopped." Koharu asked seriously.

"He was crying." Kintarou whispered. "But why…unless…no, that couldn't be. He knows better doesn't he?"

"What?" Chitose asked gently. Kintarou seemed just as distraught as Ryoma had looked when he left.

"Maybe Seigaku affected him more so than I thought. And perhaps they said other things to him than we are aware." Kintarou explained, turning sad eyes on his team.

"You guys had a great match going." Yuuji said, more to break the uncomfortable silence than anything.

"His heart and spirit wasn't in it." Kintarou said. At their blank looks, he elaborated. "Usually he is a lot more fired up than that. His movements are sharper and he never falters. Koshimae never hits on the line and he's usually more talkative than he was today. Something is bothering him."

"Should we go and make sure he is okay?" Gin asked, feeling worry over the teen that Seigaku had hurt so bad.

"No." Chitose said, making his team look at him in shock. "If I was in his place, I would want to be left alone for a little while to sort out some things and let out a few feelings. I wouldn't want people in my face about it all the time. In a few hours, we can go check on him but let's leave him be for now."

"Is that wise? He was a mess when he left here." Zaizen said, looking worriedly at the main building.

"If you want, we can try contacting Rikkaidai and see if they know what Seigaku said to him that has upset him so much that he can't play tennis." Shiraishi said after a moment. "Is that agreeable?"

Looking at one another, the team agreed and they set off for the computer lab to try to contact Rikkaidai. Kintarou felt sick with worry and silently trailed after his team, eyes thoughtful as he tried to figure out a way to help his friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Ryoma felt tears flow harder down his face as he ran away from the courts. He could still hear Seigaku's cruel words echoing in his head with each step he took.

Slamming open the nurse's room door, Ryoma immediately closed all the blinds and sat in the corner of the room that allowed him to be able to see the door but not be seen. He drew his knees up to his chin and rested his head against them.

How could Seigaku say all those things? He had been with them through their good moments and their bad, their highs and lows, and they just toss him away like week old garbage? And now their words were affecting his tennis…Ryoma gave a deep sigh and drew his knees tighter to his chest.

"_Why couldn't he have died instead of getting amnesia?" _

"_It's not like he was ever worth anything; he was just a tool to use at our leisure."_

"_He was worthless outside of tennis anyway…he only ever wanted to go get burgers and he made me pay all the time!"_

"_And that stupid saying of his…mada mada dane…I wanted to shove a stick up his ass every time I heard him say that."_

"_Useless…good for nothing…arrogant asshole…"_

"No…Stop…please…" Ryoma muttered, pressing his hands over his ears in an effort to block the voices. "I'm not useless…I'm not…"

More tears escaped his eyes and he scoffed. "Come one Echizen! Pull yourself together. You are Ryoma Echizen and you do not show this much emotion. It's not ok and it's pathetic to cry your eyes out over Seigaku. You're stronger than this."

But a little traitorous voice in the back of his head whispered, _"But you know everything they said was true. After all, why would they have said it if they didn't mean it. You are only this upset because you know that what they said was true."_

"No…STOP!" Ryoma said loudly, pressing his hands firmer against his ears as spasms rocked his body. The voice was right…he knew that everything that Seigaku had said was true. Ryoma let one more sob escape him before his eyes went blank and he stoically stared at his knees, unreachable like the peak of the highest mountain.

******Meanwhile…Shitenhouji Skyping with Rikkaidai******

"Shiraishi, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call? And why isn't Ryoma with you guys?" Seiichi asked as soon as he had gathered his team from practice.

"Well actually…we have some questions to ask you about Ryoma." Shiraishi answered his face grim.

"Don't tell me you really believe Seigaku!?" Marui exclaimed, popping the gum bubble he had been blowing and looking at Shitenhouji's buchou intensely.

"No of course we don't!" Zaizen exclaimed before is buchou could get a chance. "We know that Seigaku screwed Ryoma over!"

"Ok then what can we help you with?" Genichirou asked, mind working furiously to try and figure out why Ryoma was not with Shitenhouji.

"What exactly did Seigaku say to Ryoma when he discovered their betrayal? Was it only about how they used him or was something more said?" Chitose asked, measuring Rikkaidai's reaction.

"As far as we know that was the only thing said." Renji said with a thoughtful expression. He turned to a rather guilty looking Akaya. "You went with him correct?"

"Yeah…there was something else said to Ryoma other than what you know. Before you get angry, let me explain why I didn't tell you then." Akaya said hurriedly, noticing the look in his buchou and fukubuchou's eyes. "I thought that Ryoma had heard enough and didn't need that brought up in front of everyone. He was devastated enough and I didn't want to add to it."

Seiichi's and Genichirou's eyes immediately softened. They could both understand wanting to protect Ryoma from more trauma.

"So what else was said?" Gin asked seriously.

Akaya sighed as all eyes immediately zeroed back on him. "Seigaku told him that he was worthless, useless, and that he was a tool to be used whenever they pleased. They told him that he was unworthy of love and/or companionship and that he was worthless scum. That's pretty much the nice things they had to say."

Everyone's face was solemn and Kintarou felt tears fall unashamedly from his eyes. "How could they be so cruel to someone as nice as Koshimae? How could they say such things about their teammate and friend? It's disgusting! To turn your back on a teammate or kohai is unforgiveable!" he whispered passionately.

"Seigaku will pay for everything that they have done to Ryoma." Zaizen said with fire in his eyes. "This changes things. Before, we were going to show a little mercy to them but now, they don't deserve it; they are going to get crushed but they will feel Ryoma's pain first. They cannot be allowed to get away with this."

"And they won't. We will all make sure of that. I think that we need to have a talk with Fuji and then we will talk to Keigo and his team. With our combined strength, and that of other teams we can get on Ryoma's side, Seigaku will not stand a chance; they will not know what's coming until it hits them and they cannot escape." Jackal said with conviction.

The two teams settled down to plot, not knowing of Ryoma's broken state or of the event that was about to rattle the very foundations of Ryoma's world.

******Back with Ryoma******

The ringing of a phone cut through the stillness that had descended on the room quite some time ago. Ryoma painfully unfurled himself from his curled up position and tiredly dragged his phone out from his pocket.

"Moshi moshi." He said listlessly.

"_Ryoma…are you alone?"_ the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"Yeah why?"

"_Go find your friends, okay?" _

Ryoma flinched at the word friends. Friends, he didn't really believe in friendship anymore; only casual acquaintances. Besides, he was unworthy of such things anyway. "Why should I?"

"_Ryoma please…just go find them." _

Shocked by the sadness in the usually unflappable man's voice, Ryoma got up off the floor and started moving towards the door. For whatever reason, it was important to the man that he be near the Shitenhouji team when he finally got around to the point of the call. "Okay I'm with them."

"Ryoma, are you okay?" Kintarou asked hurriedly but quickly quieted when he saw that Ryoma was on the phone.

Something was said by the man on the other end of the phone and Ryoma stared blankly ahead in utter shock. He dropped the phone from a suddenly numb hand and his body went limp. His knees gave out and he fell to the floor.

"Ryoma?" Seiichi asked hesitantly. Ryoma had walked in on them planning Seigaku's demise and he was really worried at the out of character behavior Ryoma was displaying.

Ryoma looked up and everyone gasped in surprise at the look in Ryoma's usually bright gold eyes. They were dull and contained a bone deep sadness that sent chills down everyone's spine.

"It's-" Ryoma began hoarsely.

**A/n. Haven't had one of these in quite some time. Cliffy! Gotta love those cliffhangers! I hope I did ok with this one and would love to hear your feedback. Any guesses on what happened that has Ryoma so out of sorts? A plushie of your choice if you can guess who was behind whatever happened.**


	10. Sorry guys!

**Hey guys! So I got a review from a guest on Reading with the Heroes of Chaos saying that they reported me for stealing Rick Riordan's work. I am now in the process of moving my stories to Archive of Our Own. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience to you but I've found a lot of things on there that I like a lot better than this site. I just don't want to go through the same thing that IkutoisSmexy did.**

**Please PM me if you have any questions. You can find me under the same name on Archive of Our Own and I've already posted a slightly revised edition of the first chapter of Reading with the Heroes of Chaos and the first chapter of this story there. This account will still be open for beta reading (so if you know of anyone that could use one...) and for reading others' stories. I wish you all the best and this is me posting for probably one of the last times on this website.**

**If you make the switch to Archive of Our Own, I swear you won't regret it! (They definitely don't just delete your stories then send you a warning after it's already done! And they have a lot less rules as to what you can and cannot post!)**

**Just take the spaces out but the link to Archive of Our Own is: www. archiveofourown .org **

**Bye guys!**


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